Famous People Born In 1552

Matteo Ricci was an Italian priest best remembered as one of the founding members of the Jesuit China missions. Renowned for his missionary work in China, Ricci became the first European to set foot on the Forbidden City of Beijing. He is credited with converting important Chinese officials to Catholicism. The Catholic Church considers him a Servant of God.

Edward Coke was an English politician, barrister, and judge. He is regarded as the greatest jurist of the Jacobean and Elizabethan eras. As a barrister, Coke took up important cases like Slade's Case. As a Member of Parliament, Coke campaigned for the Statute of Monopolies 1623. He also played a key role in the passage of the Petition of Right.

Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor reigned as the King of the Romans and as the King in Germany between 1576 and 1612. Best remembered as an intellectual aficionado of occult arts, Rudolf is often seen as the founding father of the Scientific Revolution. He devoted his time to astrology and alchemy in an attempt to find the Philosopher's Stone.

Italian theologian and scientist Paolo Sarpi was also a lawyer. He lost his father early and was raised by his mother and uncle. His intellect and seriousness had earned him the nickname The Bride in his early days. He advocated for the separation of the Church and the state.

Though remembered as the third wife of Russian tsar Ivan the Terrible, Marfa Sobakina had been his wife only for 15 days. Selected of Ivan’s 12 marriage finalists, she died rather mysteriously, like the other wives of Ivan, within days of her marriage, with people suspecting poisoning as a probable reason.

Regarded as the father of international law, Italian jurist Alberico Gentili was perhaps the first in western Europe to distinguish between secular law and canon law. He had also tutored Queen Elizabeth I, had served as a professor of law at Oxford, and specialized in Roman law.

Known as the man who invented logarithms in a study independent of John Napier, Swiss mathematician Joost Bürgi was initially a clockmaker of Duke Wilhelm IV’s court. His geometrical and astronomical instruments made him popular, and he joined the service of Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II.